Last week, HTC launched their new ‘Beats’ line of smartphone composed of the HTC Sensation XE and the Sensation XL. Main difference of both is that the XE comes with a 4.3″ screen while the XL comes in a hybrid 4.7″ form factor. I have the XE version at home so here’s a quick unboxing and weekend first impressions.
The release of HTC’s ‘Beats’ is exciting as these phones come bundled with a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre in-ear earphones which are some of the best in the industry.
Been playing with the Samsung Galaxy Note for the past week. It’s a peculiar device, being the biggest smartphone to date yet doesn’t seem to have that bulky feel compared, say to Dell’s Streak. I’ve shown this phone to a lot of friends and the most common reaction is that of intrigue accompanied by the question, “would I look stupid carrying this around?”
I spent my birthday in El Nido, Palawan together with some media friends and the ASUS crew. Here are 5 things I took home after ASUS presented their product lineup for Q4. In the evening of our first night, Jamie Ysrael together with Gabe Mercado (a good friend and fun host) launched the drool-worthy ASUS Zenbook.
On the side, I was also able to take several underwater photos from a dive fronting Miniloc island together with Intel’s Wowie Wong and Randy Kanapi.
So here’s what I learned:
The beautiful Nokia N9 is now available for preorder under new post-paid plans with SMART Communications.
The Nokia N9 comes free with Unlimited Data Plan 2000 for the 16GB model and free at Unlimited Data Plan 3000 for the 64GB model. The phone also comes free with the new All-In Plan 3500 for the 16GB model. PRE-ORDER NOW! You will be able to pick up the phones on the 21st of November. If you pre-order you will receive a free Nokia Wireless Music Receiver.
If you’re not familiar with the new All-In plans these are essentially fully customizable plans that give you really good options for saving A LOT of money. IMHO, it’s even better than pre-paid. Here are examples of services that the All-In plans offer:
80 minutes calls to all networks – PHP 250 / 30 days
2,500 SMS to all networks – PHP350 / 30 days
The Nokia N9 is a looker running on the MeeGo OS platform led by Intel. If you loved the N8 (everyone did!) the N9 is a step up to a good experience despite the stigma of Nokia “being left behind” by iOS and Android. Before you make judgements, I do suggest trying out the Nokia N9 in experience stores soon when you have the chance. It is great.
EDIT II: Lenovo has released its holiday 2012 lineup — the P700i, K860 and S560 models. There is also an upgrade to the A60, the A65 and the more recent A60+. Check them out! So as not to confuse with the timelines, the P700i, K860 and S560 are the latest releases. Here is a comparison between the S560 and the P700i.
EDIT: Updated to include more insights after really getting to use it
I won Lenovo’s latest gem, the A60, last night. It’s been a long time coming but Lenovo Mobile is finally here. Oddly enough, the mobile division isn’t being handled by the consumer group of Ida Ong. Lenovo Mobile is a completely separate group with the phones being distributed by Open Communications Inc.